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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28465017">Saving The Baby Dragon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carpenterfan03/pseuds/Carpenterfan03'>Carpenterfan03</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Cinderella Story If The Shoe Fits, Descendants (Disney Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:22:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,252</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28465017</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carpenterfan03/pseuds/Carpenterfan03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tessa has lived a difficult life with her evil step mother and her two evil step sisters who have treated her like a modern day Cinderella. Her life changes though when she hears a sound from a cardboard box in the laundry room she is forced to sleep in while on "vacation." Now She not only has to deal with her evil step family, but now she has to figure out a way to take care of the abandoned Purple haired baby she found without anyone finding out.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tessa and Reed</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Is That A Baby?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Author’s Note: I was going to wait to post this because of how many stories I still have, but I started writing it and felt like I had to post it. This is going to be A Cinderella Story If The Shoe Fits story with Baby Mal. And I would like to thank Johnathan from Fanfiction.net for the request of having a story with Tessa raising a baby Mal. Anyway I hope you all enjoy this new story and please let me know what you all thought.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
  <b>Author’s Note: I was going to wait to post this because of how many stories I still have, but I started writing it and felt like I had to post it. This is going to be A Cinderella Story If The Shoe Fits story with Baby Mal. And I would like to thank Johnathan from Fanfiction.net for the request of having a story with Tessa raising a baby Mal. Anyway I hope you all enjoy this new story and please let me know what you all thought. </b>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>    Tessa sighed as she had just been introduced to her new “room” under the stairs in the laundry room area at the hotel she was forced to attend with her horrible step family. She was basically a modern day Cinderella. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>      As the only reason she was even there was to serve them and be like their servant. Tessa just sighed again as she plopped down onto the bed once everyone had left. She froze though when she heard a sound coming from a box in the laundry area causing her to get freaked out as she thought it was some animal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      Tessa just carefully got up from the bed as she made her way towards the sound. She gasped when she opened the box and found a tiny purple haired baby covered in injuries inside the box and it looked like the tiny baby hadn’t eaten for days as she looked so weak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      Tessa didn’t even hesitate as she picked up the crying baby. “Oh my gosh! You poor baby!” Tessa cried out as she held the baby close to her. It was obvious the baby had been abandoned and she was starting to feel a connection to the poor baby as they were the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      They were both abandoned and forced to fend for themselves. “Hey it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. Can you tell me your age,” Tessa told the baby in her gentle voice making the one year old nod as she held up 1 finger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>      Making Tessa smile a little as she looked at the adorable baby. “You’re 1!” Tessa told the baby, making her laugh and nod. “Can you talk yet,” Tessa asked the baby hoping to figure out more about who she was and who left her there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>       The small baby just smiled and nodded making Tessa laugh a little. “Okay well do you have a name,” Tessa asked the baby who shook her head no as her mommy never gave her a name. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>        “You don’t have a name?” Tessa asked the baby who nodded making Tessa sigh as she looked at the poor baby. “Okay well then let’s give you a name! Hmm… oh wow I just remembered I’m horrible at coming up with names! How about you? Do you wanna give yourself a name,” Tessa told the baby making her giggle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>           Mal!” The small baby screamed out just saying the first thing that popped in her head making Tessa laugh. “Mal?” Tessa asked the baby trying to decide whether she liked the name or not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>            The small baby just smiled and nodded as she looked at Tessa. “Mal! Mal! Mal!” The small baby screamed out making Tessa laugh as she looked at the baby. “Okay well then I guess Mal it is! Well now that we have a name we just gotta figure out what to do next! Do you have a mommy and daddy,” Tessa asked the baby who shook her head no.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>           “No you don’t have a mommy or daddy,” Tessa asked the baby who shook her head no as she pointed to the box. “Bye Bye!” The small baby screamed out making Tessa nod sadly as she realized what the baby was saying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>           Her parents left her in the box and then left. Tessa just looked at the baby having no clue what to do. She had seen movies and shows about this kinda stuff, but it was nothing compared to the real life thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>           “Okay um… I think we should call…” Tessa began, but stopped when the tiny baby looked up at her and giggled filling Tessa’s heart with so much affection. She knew that she couldn’t just keep the baby that would be illegal, but she also was really starting to bond with the small girl. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>            And Tessa also knew that calling the authorities would mean the baby would be thrown away to strangers and it’s not like anyone would even notice. No one ever paid attention to her unless they were forcing her to be their slave. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>            “Okay scratch that! I’m gonna take care of you until we can figure out what to do next. I’ll be right back! Here you can play with this until I come back,” Tessa screamed out as she pulled out her phone finding a baby show and playing it as she handed her phone to the baby. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>             Tessa then quickly put the baby down on her “bed” and then went out to go find her evil step family’s suite, so she could sneak some food for the tiny baby. Tessa just quickly grabbed some fruit as it was soft and easy to cut up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>              She froze though when she heard that awful voice of her evil step mother who had just caught her. “TESSA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! ARE YOU STEALING OUR FOOD!” Divine screamed out in her awful scratchy voice causing Tessa to freeze up as she knew Divine would expose her right away and get Mal taken away from her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>              “Oh um… I was just…” Tessa nervously started to say, but her step mom just rolled her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>           “OH I DON’T REALLY CARE WHAT YOU WERE DOING! YOU ALREADY CONTAMINATED THE FOOD! JUST TAKE IT! BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH ANYMORE OR I SWEAR I WILL…” Tessa’s evil step mom screamed out, but didn’t get to finish as Tessa just nodded her head and ran off with the food as she quickly ran to find the baby. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>              Tessa laughed when as soon as she entered the laundry mat the small baby looked up and got excited as she started reaching towards her. “Aw! Hi Mal! You’re excited to see me huh! Alright here we go I got you some food!” Tessa told the baby as she sat down on her bed and picked up the baby sitting her in her lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>             “Yay! Foo!” The small baby screamed out excitedly making Tessa laugh again as she pulled out some of the fruits as she cut them up. “Okay here you go sweetie! This is a strawberry!” Tessa told the baby as she handed her some of the cut up strawberries.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>               Mal just looked at the strange red stuff as she debated whether to eat them or not as she wasn’t sure she could trust it. Tessa just sighed when she saw that the baby was just staring at the food in shock as she knew the baby needed to eat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>              “Hey it’s okay Mal. Strawberries are good! Look watch me,” Tessa told the baby as she ate one of the strawberries making the baby laugh when she saw that nothing happened to Tessa as she reached for the cut up one again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>               “Wan! Wan!” The small baby screamed out as she reached out making Tessa smile in victory as she helped the small girl eat the cut up strawberries making sure the baby didn’t choke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                Tessa laughed when the one year old’s eyes widened as she smiled wide falling in love with the red fruit. “Mow! Mow! Mow!” Mal screamed out as she reached out for more of the strawberries making Tessa laugh as she could tell the baby loved the strawberries.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                “Aw! You are just so cute! Alright here you go! Careful don’t eat too fast!” Tessa playfully told the baby as she cut up some more of the strawberries and handed them to the baby who didn’t even hesitate as she stuffed them all in her mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                “You’re so silly! Aw you got strawberry juice all over your face okay come here let’s get that off,” Tessa playfully told the baby as she licked her thumb and then wiped it on the small girl's face making the baby squirm as she tried to push Tessa’s thumb away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                 “Yucky!” The baby screamed out as she continued to push Tessa’s thumb away making Tessa laugh. “I know, but I’m almost done. There we go! All clean!” Tessa told the baby as she finished wiping off the strawberry juice from the baby’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                 “Ugh you have got to be kidding me! Okay Mal now I have to go, my evil step family needs me to serve them. I’ll be right back! I promise,” Tessa told Mal after getting a text from her step mom demanding that she come to their suite and serve them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>                  Just as Tessa was getting up the small girl started crying as she reached for Tessa. “Ee! Ee!” The small baby cried out in babbling reaching for Tessa not wanting Tessa to leave her again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                   Tessa just sighed as she knew if her step family saw Mal they wouldn’t hesitate to turn her in for keeping an abandoned baby and not alerting the authorities, but she also knew she couldn’t just leave a baby by herself for that long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                     Tessa didn’t know what to do. It was a lose lose situation. She couldn’t leave the baby by herself as that could be dangerous and she couldn’t let her step family see her either. Tessa smiled though when she got an idea as she quickly looked at the baby. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>                      “Okay Mal! I have an idea!” Tessa screamed out excitedly as she smiled at the baby making the baby stop crying as she started giggling happily. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A New Look = A Confused Baby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>   “Shh Mal you have to make no noise okay,” Tessa told the baby as she very carefully placed Mal into her bag and left it open a tiny bit, so the baby could breathe. She knew it was not a good idea to do that, but she had no other choice and it’s not like she would be gone too long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Mal just nodded her little head in agreement as she started to play around with one of Tessa’s hats that she left in the bag after finding that the baby enjoyed playing with the hat since she didn’t have any toys or anything else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>      Once Tessa was sure that the baby was situated safely she carefully made her way to her step family’s suite to go serve them. “TESSA! I NEED YOU TO WATCH SPARKLES! WE ARE GOING OUT AND SOMEONE NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF HER!” Divine screamed out in her loud obnoxious voice as soon as Tessa entered the suite making Tessa wince when she heard Mal start crying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Yes right away Divine!” Tessa quickly told her step mom silently praying that she was too preoccupied to notice Mal’s cries. Unfortunately nothing good ever worked out for her as her step mom immediately got upset.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>       “UGH WHAT IS THAT ANNOYING SOUND!” Tessa’s step mom screamed out, making the scared baby start crying louder causing Tessa to immediately start panicking as she tried to quickly come up with a reason. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>        “Oh that was just my new ringtone! I thought I had it on silent! My bad,” Tessa told her step mom who just rolled her eyes. “WHATEVER JUST DON’T MAKE IT AGAIN! NOW TAKE CARE OF SPARKLES OR ELSE! NOW GIRLS WE’RE LEAVING LET’S GO NOW!” Divine screamed out as she threw her dead stuffed dog at Tessa and then took off with her two evil daughters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>        Once Divine and her evil daughters were gone Tessa quickly made sure the door was locked as she quickly opened the bag and pulled the crying baby out. “Aw Mal I’m sorry. I forgot how loud and scary she can be. It’s okay she’s not here anymore,” Tessa told the purple haired baby as she rocked her and hummed a little to calm the baby.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>          Tessa smiled when Mal calmed down as she started giggling listening to Tessa’s humming. “Mow!” The tiny baby screamed out as she looked up at Tessa making Tessa laugh. “You want me to hum more?” Tessa playfully asked the baby who nodded and clapped her hands excitedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>          “Okay!” Tessa told the baby as she began to hum again making the baby giggle more. Tessa stopped though when she saw Mal start to reach for Sparkles as she knew the baby thought it was a toy and the last thing Tessa wanted was for the baby to play with a stuffed dead dog that her evil step mom believed was alive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>           “Mal! No! That’s not a toy! Trust me this thing is disgusting and wrong!” Tessa told the small girl as she immediately grabbed the stuffed dog away from the baby making Mal start sobbing as she wanted to play with it and her mouth was starting to hurt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>            Tessa began to panic after that as she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know too much about babies. “Mal hey it’s okay. Come on we can get you a real toy,” Tessa told the baby as she picked her up and quickly made sure the coast was clear before she made her way out of the suite with the baby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>           Tessa froze when she saw so focused on Mal that she wasn’t watching where she was going as she accidently ran into someone. “Oh my gosh I am so sorry!” Tessa screamed out, but the girl just laughed as she looked at Tessa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>          “Hey Tessa,” Georgie playfully told her friend, making Tessa smile when she realized it was just Georgie, the make up artist she had just met. “Georgie!” Tessa called out as she hugged the girl, making Georgie laugh as she hugged Tessa back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>           “Tessa you never said you were a mom,” Georgie told Tessa in shock when she noticed Tessa was holding a baby. Tessa just sighed as she was debating on whether she could trust Georgie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>            Georgie seemed like a trustworthy girl, but she didn’t trust easily. “Oh um… I’m not really it's complicated,” Tessa told Georgie who just nodded not wanting to push Tessa into something she didn’t want to talk about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>           “Got it well she’s adorable!” Georgie told Tessa who smiled as she looked at the now shy baby that was just clinging to her. “Yeah she is. Anyway I should go. I need to get a few baby stuff before my evil step family gets back,” Tessa told Georgie, making Georgie laugh a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>         “Alright see you around and did you ever think about auditioning with my offer. It’s still on the table,” Georgie told Tessa, referring to her offer to change Tessa’s appearance, so she could audition without her step mom finding out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>          Tessa just sighed as she wanted to audition so badly, but she knew her step mom would never allow her and she had Mal now too. “Georgie I would love to, but my step family will never allow me and besides the auditions are in a few hours and what about Mal,” Tessa told Georgie who smiled as she pulled Tessa to her work room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>           “Okay Georgie what are you…” Tessa began, but Georgie just shushed her as she started grabbing makeup, wigs, new clothes, and color changing contacts. “We’re gonna change your appearance,” Georgie told Tessa who just held up the small baby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>            “What about Mal! I promised to get her a toy,” Tessa told Georgoe who smiled as she grabbed a clean makeup brush as she handed it to the baby who smiled as she started to chew on the end</span>
</p><p>
  <span>          “There that should keep her entertained! Now let’s get started!” Georgie screamed out making Tessa worried as she didn’t think that was safe for Mal to be chewing on but she couldn’t really do anything about it as Georgie had already started giving her a makeover.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>            “And done! What do you think!” Georgie asked Tessa as she finished up her makeover letting Tessa see it. Tessa just looked at the mirror in shock as she could barely recognize herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>             “Oh wow this looks amazing! I can barely even recognize myself! Georgie your makeup brushes are like magic wands!” Tessa screamed out excitedly making Georgie laugh as she was proud of her work. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>             “Thank you! Oh but we should test it out on Mal!” Georgie told Tessa, making Tessa laugh as she tried to pick up Mal, but the baby just looked at her in shock not recognizing her as she started crying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>              “Aw Mal it’s okay! It’s still me! I just changed my look a little. Aw please don’t cry,” Tessa told the baby trying to calm her down, but Mal just kept crying as she still didn’t recognize Tessa and Tessa was the only one she trusted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>              Georgie just smiled at the baby as she carefully removed Tessa’s wig. “Look see Tessa is right here,” Georgie told the small girl who stopped crying as she started laughing and crawled towards Tessa making Tessa laugh as she picked up Mal and Georgie put the wig back on her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>          “Well I would definitely say it worked on Mal!” Tess jokingly told Georgie, making her laugh as she helped Tessa up. “Yeah so now you have to audition!” Georgie told her friend making Tessa sigh again as she still wasn’t sure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>           “I don’t know I mean it worked on Mal, but she’s a baby. What if it doesn’t work the same way on other people,” Tessa told Georgie who smiled as she got an idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>         “I got it! What if we just go for a little stroll in the hallway and if no one recognizes you then we’ll know and this would work perfectly because your character could have a baby, so no one will question where you got Mal! Come on Tessa, follow your dreams!” Georgie told Tessa trying to convince her to take a risk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>         Tessa just smiled as she decided to give in. “Alright fine! I’ll give it a shot, but I’m still not sure about auditioning,” Tessa told Georgie who just smiled again taking the small victory as she helped lead Tessa who was in disguise and Mal who Tessa was holding out into the hallway to show off Tessa’s new persona. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A New Challenge</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>  “Okay this is a bad idea. There is no way this is going to work,” Tessa told Georgie, making the girl laugh a little as she took Mal from Tessa seeing her struggling to walk in the heels a little bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Yes it will trust me. You look so different I promise you no one will even recognize you now come on,” Georgie told Tessa trying to convince her friend to take a risk as Tessa was starting to get cold feet as soon as they got close to the lobby area for the auditions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “I guess but Georgie my step family will recognize my voice and besides I really should get Mal some stuff because I have nothing for her right now and babies require a lot of supplies,” Tessa told Georgie, making Georgie roll her eyes as she dragged Tessa out to the hallway anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>        “Tessa it’ll be fine. You can just disguise your voice and how about I take Mal to get some supplies for you,” Georgie told Tessa who was about to respond when the two stage hands that Tessa had met yesterday walked by as they got a look at Tessa’s new appearance and they immediately came over to talk to her and Georgie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>         “Hey Georgie, who's your friend and whose baby is that,” one of the stage hands asked the makeup artist making Tessa laugh as she looked at the boys. “You know who I am,” Tessa began, but was interrupted by Georgie who wanted to help keep Tessa’s identity secret even to two of their sorta friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>           “She’s a guest Eddie and this is her daughter Mal. I'm just holding her for her,” Georgie quickly told the boys, making them a little crushed as they realized that this “new” girl that they thought was cute was a mom and probably had a boyfriend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>              “Oh so you’re taken then,” the stage hands told Tessa, making her laugh as she picked up Mal from Georgie. “Nope, I’m single right now it’s just Mal and I,” Tessa told the boys with a smile making the boys blush as they started rambling again before Tessa and Georgie walked off while laughing at the flirty and clueless boys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>               “They didn’t recognize me and I wore their coveralls before,” Tessa told Georgie in amazement making Georgie laugh as she had no clue what Tessa was talking about, but she was taking it as a compliment on her work as it had definitely worked on tricking the boys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>               “I don’t know what that means but I’ll take it as a compliment. Now you have to audition,” Georgie told Tessa, making her sigh as she looked over at the audition area nervously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>               “I don’t know I mean my voice is way too recognizable and my step mom will recognize me right away. I swear it’s so creepy,” Tessa told her friend, making Georgie laugh as she looked at Tessa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                “Then disguise it here we are,” Georgie told Tessa who looked over at everyone as she immediately felt even more nervous, but she tried to put on a confident look. “Okay I’m gonna go,” Tessa told herself and Georgie as she continued to just stand there and not move at all making Georgie get a little frustrated as she practically pushed Tessa forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                 “Tess go,” Georgie told her friend with a little bit of force, making Tessa nod as she finally walked over to the audition area leaving Georgie behind who was watching her while bouncing the small baby that was now crying and chewing on her tiny fingers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                  “Aw it’s okay. She’ll be right back,” Georgie told the baby trying to calm her down, but it didn’t seem to be working as Mal just wanted Tessa. While Georgie was trying and failing at calming the screaming baby Tessa was nervously preparing for her audition and silently praying that her “family” wouldn’t notice her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>              Tessa completely froze in fear when she heard her step mom’s conniving voice as she started walking towards her, making Tessa’s heart start pounding fast as she almost forgot to breathe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>              She knew her step mom would kill her if she discovered that it was her. “Are you a VIP guest I didn’t see you at the brunch,” Tessa heard her step mom say as she tried to stay calm knowing that her step mom was suspicious and she could get caught.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>               Tessa just looked down as she knew she needed to think fast and before she really knew what she was doing she was speaking in a british accent. “Um, the trolley broke,” Tessa told her step mom quickly in a british accent trying to make up a quick excuse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                Tessa couldn’t believe that she had done that, but she knew she had already said it and couldn’t take it back now. “Yes. But it’s a bloody shame that the trolley broke,” Tessa told her step mom while still looking down not being able to look up at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                Tessa’s words just seemed to make Divine more angry as she knew she recognized Tessa from somewhere and it was killing her. “I know you from somewhere,” Divine told Tessa in an accusatory tone making Tessa look down again as she pretended to act like she didn’t know who Divine was while Divine walked around examining her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                 “You even smell familiar!” Divine screamed out as she got way too close to Tessa making Tessa uncomfortable as she quickly pushed her way. “It’s vanilla!” Tessa told her step mom right away as she started making up stuff which seemed to work as Divine seemed to be backing down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                 Before Divine could drill Tessa more Georgie walked over to her as she couldn’t calm the baby down and it was starting to worry her. Tessa smiled as she knew she could use this to her advantage as she reached out for Mal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                 “Aw did you miss mommy. Well it was nice talking to you, but I should really tend to my baby!” Tessa told her step mom in her fake british accent as she balanced the baby on her hip and bounced her a little making Divine roll her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                  “Whatever. I got my eyes on you,” Divine told Tessa with venom in her tone as she walked away to go deal with her daughters again making them “perfect” for their audition. Tessa just looked down again as she called out to Divine trying to help her act.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                    “Cheers! Lord save the Queen! In London where I’m from,” Tessa rambled out in her fake british accent making Divine roll her eyes as she walked off giving up making Tessa sigh in relief as she smiled at the still crying baby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                      “Oh that was close. Mal you saved me,” Tessa told the baby who just kept crying as she clung to Tessa. “Aw Mal what’s wrong,” Tessa cooed out to the baby as she turned her attention to her as Georgie came by as well.</span>
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  <span>                        “I think she might be teething. I thought it was just that she wanted you, but now I’m thinking it’s teething,” Georgie told Tessa who nodded as she carefully pulled the crying baby’s fingers out of her mouth so she could see inside the baby’s mouth.</span>
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  <span>                         “Aw she is teething. Poor baby and oh no what am I supposed to do she’s going to be really fussy now how am I supposed to keep her hidden from my step family when I’m me again,” Tessa worried out to Georgie who just handed Tessa a cold wash cloth that she ran over some cold water.</span>
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  <span>             “Here this should keep her occupied until you can get her a real teether to use and don’t worry about that you can worry about that when you get to it. I’ll see you after the auditions I have to get back to work bye Tessa and good luck I know you’re gonna crush it,” Georgie told Tessa as she quickly left to get back to her job as she knew she would get in trouble for slacking off again if she didn’t leave now.</span>
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  <span>            Once Georgie left Tessa just sighed as she stood off to the side and waited for her turn to audition as she kept herself busy with the teething baby. </span>
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  <span>            “Aw I know Mal. It hurts I know, but it’s okay. Here this is supposed to help you. I’m really sorry that I can’t give you anything else, but I promise after this audition I’ll take you to the store and get you some stuff to help you,” Tessa told Mal as she placed the cold washcloth in the baby’s mouth and sighed a little in relief when Mal seemed to calm down a little. She was still fussy, but she wasn’t as fussy as before which was an improvement.</span>
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  <span>            Tessa just sighed as she just knew that Mal’s teething was going to make this so much harder on her, but she knew Mal couldn’t help it. She just really wished that this hadn’t happened when she was trying to hide a baby from pretty much everyone. </span>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. One Puppy + One Baby = Best friends</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author’s Note: Hey everyone I’m really sorry for the long wait. Anyway this chapter will include a new character her name is Pumpkin and she’s a White Maltese poodle mix pup. She belongs to @annewheelerfab1 from Wattpad who is letting me use her OC and she is Georgie’s puppy. Anyway thank you to @annewheelerfab1 for letting me use her OC in my story. Pumpkin will also be used in some of my other stories too so I hope you enjoy her. And I’m really sorry to @annewheelerfab1if I’m not writing her right I tried my best, but I’m not sure how it came out. Anyway again thank you to @annewheelerfab1 for letting me use your OC and you should really check out her stories especially her Adventures Of Pumpkin book it’s really good and I love it that’s what inspired me to get permission to use Pumpkin because I loved her so much. Anyway sorry for the long note. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you thought.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <span>  “Okay I’m next Mal and then we can go baby shopping,” Tessa told the still crying baby as she was still trying to calm her down, but she was struggling. She had no clue what she was doing either.</span>
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  <span>    She basically became a parent overnight and she was completely unprepared for it. Tessa sighed when she saw the person before her come out as she knew it was her turn, but she wasn’t ready at all.</span>
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  <span>     She had no clue what she even needed to do for the audition on top of her still trying to calm down the teething one year old that just wasn't calming down now matter what she did. She had tried the wet washcloth from Georgie, but unfortunately that didn’t work for very long.</span>
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  <span>      She had even tried just massaging Mal’s gums with her finger which was disgusting, but it had been worth a shot. Unfortunately that hadn’t worked either. “Okay here we go,” Tessa told the baby as she entered the audition room and everyone in the room just stared at her making her feel even more nervous as she quickly scribbled out a random name and then went up to the stage for her audition.</span>
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  <span>        “Okay go ahead, but um you might want to put that baby down first,” Reed’s manager told Tessa, making her confused for a second before she realized she was still holding Mal. “Oh um right. Um I don’t really know where…” Tessa began in her fake british accent, but Reed interrupted her as he motioned for Tessa to hand him the baby.</span>
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  <span>            “It’s alright I can hold her,” Reed told Tessa who just blushed a little before quickly recovering as she handed Mal off to Reed and then got back on stage. Tessa took a deep breath as she adjusted her accent again but it was then that she realized she had no clue what to do, so she just said the first thing that came to her mind making Reed laugh as he jokingly told his manager.</span>
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  <span>              Tessa knew she had messed up at that point and she honestly was regretting this way too much, but she had already dug herself a hole and she had to do this now. She just quickly thought up a song as she let the piano guy know and then just started singing without even really thinking much as she just wanted to get this over with at this point.</span>
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  <span>                She had already messed up really bad there was no way she was going to get picked for anything big anyway. Tessa was shocked though when Reed and his manager actually seemed impressed by her singing as Reed walked over to her with the now sleeping baby as he carefully handed her back to Tessa.</span>
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  <span>                 “Wow that was pretty average,” Reed jokingly told Tessa, making her blush a little as she knew that he was saying she was a really good singer plus she couldn’t help the feeling she was getting at having Reed talking with her.</span>
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  <span>                  He was so cute and she was having such a hard time not falling for him. She was brought back to reality though when she heard Reed ask her name as she quickly began to panic as she couldn’t say her name and she was horrible at coming up with names.</span>
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  <span>                  “Oh um Cinderella,” Tessa playfully told Reed, making him laugh a little as he was pretty sure Tessa was playing around and just didn’t want to tell him her name. “Cinderella oh how ironic and who is this Aurora?” Reed playfully asked Tessa, making her laugh. “No, her name is Mal actually,” Tessa told Reed, making him smile a little as he nodded.</span>
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  <span>                    “Well she is quite adorable. Is she yours,” Reed told Tessa, making her smile. “She is isn’t she and yes she’s mine,” Tessa told Reed in her fake accent again making him laugh as he started talking about her shirt and about England as he was from there and was trying to get to know Tessa more.</span>
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  <span>                  Tessa sighed in relief when he finally seemed to accept her answers even though they were ridiculous and clearly made up as he decided to change the subject. “Okay I see well let’s see you move,” Reed told Tessa making her a little nervous, but she was more confident this time as her singing seemed to have impressed Reed.</span>
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  <span>                   “You want me to dance,” Tessa asked in her ridiculous fake accent making Reed laugh a little as he nodded. “I would love for you to dance,” Reed told Tessa who nodded as she went to take off her coat.</span>
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  <span>                     “Hey how’s it going,” Georgie told Tessa while Tessa quickly took her coat off making Tessa smile as she hugged Georgie. “It’s going well I think but I’m not done yet. Hey um can you hold Mal for me please. I know you’re working but,” Tessa began but Georgie cut her off as she carefully took Mal from Tessa before pushing her forward again.</span>
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  <span>                       “It’s fine I got her. Just go give it your best. You can do this and you’re almost done. Just come back to the makeup trailer after this that’s where we’ll be,” Georgie told Tessa who smiled and nodded as she went back out to show off her dancing.</span>
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  <span>                      As soon as they reached the make up trailer the small baby that had been sleeping woke up as she started crying again. “Aw it’s okay cutie. Here I know this isn’t a baby toy, but this should help. Don’t worry it’s clean I just opened it,” Georgie told the small girl as she picked up one of her puppy Pumpkin’s toys after cleaning it off and then handed it to Mal completely forgetting about how territorial Pumpkin can be.</span>
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  <span>                      As soon as Georgie handed the baby the hedgehog toy it was knocked out of her hand as Pumpkin had seen her owner come in with the tiny creature and she was already not liking this, but now Georgie was taking it too far she was giving this little thief her Flora.</span>
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  <span>                    She had no clue who this baby was that was taking all her attention away and stealing her stuff, but she would not stand for this. This was her home not this imposter’s. “That’s mine!” Pumpkin barked out as she tried to take her toy back, but Mal just looked at her as she reached for the toy.</span>
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  <span>                     “I wan id!” The young girl cried out but because she still couldn’t really talk all that came out was cries but Pumpkin understood her right away. “It’s mine and I don’t know who you are, but this is my home and that is my owner. You need to leave,” Pumpkin barked out again trying to show this little imposter that she wouldn’t win this war.</span>
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  <span>                     Unfortunately this action just made it worse. “Owie! Gib id ba! An I no wan hew! I wan mommy,” the small baby cried out but again all that Georgie heard was the crying and she assumed it was due to Pumpkin making her upset.</span>
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  <span>                      Georgie loved Pumpkin, but she didn’t like that her puppy was making the baby cry. “Pumpkin you can share it’s one day,” Georgie told Pumpkin in her stern voice, making Pumpkin look down, feeling guilty as she hated upsetting her owner.</span>
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  <span>                       Georgie just smiled as she picked up the toy and cleaned it off again before handing it back to Mal who started chewing on it again as she started to calm down a little. </span>
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  <span>                      “Okay good now I have some work to do, so Diva Dog you’re in charge of Mal. Please help keep an eye on her for me,” Georgie told her puppy who nodded her head as she looked at the baby that was sitting on the floor and chewing all over her favorite toy.</span>
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  <span>                        As much as Pumpkin hated agreeing to this she knew that Georgie was counting on her and she could never let Georgie down. Once Georgie had gone off to try and get some work done Pumpkin decided she should learn more about who this imposter was in her home that she was now stuck with.</span>
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  <span>                        “Okay I’ve had enough of you. Who are you and what are you doing here. This is my home not yours. And why do you have to take my stuff,” Pumpkin barked out to the baby who just continued to chew on the toy. </span>
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  <span>                        “I Mal! I no no why I hew. I wan mommy no hew! An I nee dis id ma my owie no huw,” the small baby told the dog as she chewed more on the toy and Pumpkin finally seemed to understand what was going on as she realized Mal was teething and she was finally starting to calm down as she realized that this little imposter wasn’t an imposter at all and it was obvious she didn’t want to be there.</span>
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  <span>                      “So you’re not here to steal my owner and my life,” Pumpkin barked out to Mal who just giggled as she continued to just chew on the toy as she was finally starting to feel some relief from it.</span>
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  <span>                      “You siwy da is no mommy. Mommy wook wike dis!” The small girl told the puppy as she pointed to a picture of Tessa from a picture of her and Georgie that Georgie had on her phone. “Wait Tessa is your mommy,” Pumpkin barked out to the baby who smiled and nodded as she hadn’t known Tessa for very long but she already loved her.</span>
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  <span>                        Tessa was a way better mommy than her mean old one that had put her in that box and just left. Mal had thought they were playing a game, but she had to learn the hard way that it wasn’t a game when her mommy never came back, but instead Tessa did and Tessa had immediately helped her.</span>
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  <span>                         Tessa was nicer to her in those first few seconds than her mommy had ever been to her in her whole long year of life. And Mal loved Tessa. Tessa was her mommy now and she didn’t care what anyone said.</span>
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  <span>                          “Well this changes everything. We should start over. I’m Pumpkin,” Pumpkin told Mal, making her giggle adorably and Pumpkin knew right there that this little creature would become her new friend as she had to admit she was feeling protective of her already.</span>
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  <span>                           “Hey thanks for watching her,” Tessa told Georgie, waking up Pumpkin who had ended up falling asleep with Mal cuddled up next to her. “Of course it was no problem. She was pretty well behaved and I think Diva Dog found a new little friend,” Georgie playfully told Tessa as she pointed to Pumpkin who was still cuddled up next to the sleeping baby.</span>
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  <span>                          “Aw that’s adorable well I should probably take her now because I really need to do some shopping plus I kinda wanna bond a little more with her,” Tessa told Georgie as she tried to take Mal from Pumpkin, but Pumpkin just started barking as she refused to give up Mal.</span>
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  <span>                           Pumpkin hadn’t liked Mal at first, but now that she had spent that time with her she absolutely fell in love with the tiny baby and she didn’t want Mal to go home. Mal was her new friend and she didn’t want her friend to go home.</span>
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  <span>                           “Pumpkin I know she’s your friend, but she has to go home now. You can see her later now please let Tessa take Mal home,” Georgie told Pumpkin who just shook her head no as she got in front of the baby refusing to let anyone near her.</span>
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  <span>                            Normally Pumpkin listened to Georgie, but she wouldn’t give in this time. She wasn’t ready for her new friend to go home yet. “Okay well I don’t she’s gonna give Mal up yet,” Tessa told Georgie who just laughed a little as she had to admit she thought it was adorable how much Pumpkin had bonded with the baby.</span>
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  <span>                           “Yeah I don’t think so either. You know you’re always welcome to just hang out here if you want. Maybe we can get to know each other more while our kids bond,” Georgie playfully told Tessa, making her laugh.</span>
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  <span>                            “Yeah I guess I’m going to have to since there is no breaking them up right now plus I’m honestly scared about waking Mal since she’s still teething,” Tessa told Georgie as she sat down by her on the couch as they both knew they were going to be there a while.     </span>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. New Baby Worries</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author’s Note: I am so sorry for the really long wait. I just got pretty distracted by my other stories and almost forgot about this one, but I promise I won’t do that again. Anyway thank you to @annewheelerfab1 for letting me use Pumpkin and her other OCs that aren’t in this chapter yet, but they will be soon. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you all thought.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <span>   “So just curious where did Mal actually come from,” Georgie asked Tessa while they were on the couch just talking and trying to get to know each other since Pumpkin wasn't allowing Tessa anywhere near the small baby which meant Tessa was stuck there until she did.</span>
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  <span>    “Like I said it’s kinda complicated,” Tessa told Georgie again making the other girl nod as she still had so many questions, but figured it was best to just let it go because it didn’t really affect her and it was obvious Tessa cared about the baby and the baby seemed to love her back. </span>
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  <span>     “Okay well then moving on. How long is she going to be staying with you,” Georgie asked Tessa who just sighed as she looked at the sleeping baby that was being guarded by the puppy.</span>
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  <span>      Tessa honestly didn’t know how long she would have Mal for. In the perfect world Tessa would never get caught and eventually adopt Mal and raise her the best she could and they would live happily ever after. But the real world wasn’t a fairytale.</span>
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  <span>       Not everything ended with a happily ever after. And in reality Tessa was a seventeen year old girl barely even surviving right now just so she wouldn’t lose the last piece of her father and her childhood the repair shop.</span>
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  <span>       That her evil step mom was making her work to keep. And by work she really means be her personal servant until she turns 18. There was no way she would get that happily ever after with Mal.</span>
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  <span>       Most likely she would be caught and Mal would be thrown into the system and she would probably get in serious trouble for hiding a baby and not reporting it.</span>
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  <span>        But for now she’s okay with living in that fantasy world because at least she gets to experience even just a little bit of happiness again which she hasn’t felt since her father passed. </span>
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  <span>         And it was obvious Mal needed her right now. Tessa was brought out of her thoughts when she felt the gentle touch on her arm as Georgie had been trying to get Tessa’s attention, but the younger girl had completely zoned out after her question.</span>
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  <span>         “Tessa are you okay,” Georgie asked the younger girl with her gentle voice making Tessa nod as she finally came back to reality and what was happening. “Oh um yeah I’m fine. Sorry I just kinda zoned out. Working for my evil family while also trying to take care of a baby on top of having to keep up a whole act is just a lot. And plus I still haven’t gotten anything for Mal and it’s going to look really suspicious if she’s wearing the same clothes every day,” Tessa told Georgie which wasn’t a lie all those things were true, but that wasn’t really why she was zoned out.</span>
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  <span>        Georgie just nodded in understanding as she could tell Tessa was going through a lot and she did feel bad for her for all she was going through. Georgie was used to helping people especially considering Pumpkin was a therapy dog and she had seen a lot of people that were struggling as well and she always enjoyed helping them and Tessa was her new friend. </span>
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  <span>         “Okay well then maybe I should get Pumpkin to move, so you can get Mal since you should probably go now and get her some stuff otherwise it’s gonna get too late,” Georgie told Tessa who nodded before realizing she had no baby car seat and she didn’t even know what kind of stuff she would need. </span>
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  <span>          “Okay but um what am I supposed to do about the fact that I don’t have a baby car seat. I mean you can get arrested for not having one. Plus I honestly don’t even know what kind of stuff to get for a baby. And to be honest I don’t know how old she really is. What if I’m not feeding her the right stuff. Like what age do babies stop needing formula! And…” Tessa rambled out nervously as she began to panic, but Georgie just cut her off as she remembered something.</span>
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  <span>          “Tessa it’s okay. I know where we can get you a baby car seat. The props room happens to have one I saw it the other day when I was helping out one of my friends with the show. And here I know everything you need already. Just trust me okay,” Georgie told Tessa who just nodded as she started to calm down a little bit.</span>
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  <span>           “Alright thank you so much Georgie I seriously owe you one!” Tessa told Georgie who just smiled as she helped Tessa up from the couch. “No need to thank me. Like I said I’m a sucker for happily ever afters. Besides I can see how much you care for Mal and right now it’s obvious she needs someone to care for her. Now come on let’s go get that car seat,” Georgie told tessa making her laugh as she knew Georgie was right, but she stopped when she realized something.</span>
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  <span>          “Wait but what if someone questions why we're taking the baby car seat,” Tessa asked Georgie as she began to panic again. If anyone caught her she could lose Mal and Tessa wasn’t ready for that yet.</span>
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  <span>            Georgie just smiled as she got another idea. “If anyone questions us we can just say we’re babysitting for your other self. No one will even know that we’re lying,” Georgie told Tessa hoping to calm down her worries and she knew Tessa was panicking again and being paranoid.</span>
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  <span>             “Okay yeah that works you’re right. There’s nothing to worry about,” Tessa told Georgie who smiled as she hugged Tessa again. “Of course there’s not now come on let’s go get that car seat,” Georgie told Tessa who nodded before remembering that Mal was still sleeping peacefully by the puppy.</span>
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  <span>             “Wait Georgie I need to get Mal real quick,” Tessa called out to the slightly older girl who nodded as Tessa ran over to the baby and tried to pick her up again, but Pumpkin started barking at her not wanting Mal to leave still.</span>
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  <span>              “My baby! Put her down!” Pumpkin barked out over and over again trying to get Tessa to give her Mal back, but because Tessa couldn’t understand her all she was hearing was the loud barking which accidentally woke Mal up making her start crying.</span>
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  <span>               “Aw Mal it’s okay sweetie. Come on we’re gonna get you some baby stuff and you can help me pick them out,” Tessa cooed out to the small girl as she tried to calm her down.</span>
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  <span>               Mal just smiled as she calmed down and cuddled up more on Tessa just enjoying her love and affection, but she stopped when she got a look at Pumpkin when she remembered she still wanted Pumpkin too, so she just started reaching towards the puppy and crying out.</span>
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  <span>              “Aw Mal you can see Pumpkin tomorrow, but we have to go now. I’m sorry sweetie. Say bye bye to Pumpkin. But it’s okay you can play together again tomorrow,” Tessa told the baby who just kept reaching towards Pumpkin and Pumpkin was still barking at Tessa to put the baby back down.</span>
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  <span>              “Okay well I don’t know what to do right now,” Tessa told Georgie who laughed as she picked up Pumpkin. “You know Pumpkin and I could watch Mal for you while you go to the store. If you’re okay with that,” Georgie told Tessa just wanting to help out her friend, but Tessa just shook her head no as she hadn’t been able to spend that much time with Mal yet and she wanted to.</span>
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  <span>               “No it’s okay I haven’t had that much one on one time with her yet and I would kinda like to, but thanks for the offer and again thank you so much for all your help. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Tessa told Georgie who nodded as she found the old car seat she was talking about.</span>
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  <span>              “Of course and I completely understand. Well here this is the car seat I was talking about. It’s not very good, but it should work just until you can get one at the store,” Georgie told Tessa as she handed her the old baby car seat.</span>
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  <span>               “Oh my gosh thank you and no this is perfect. Again thank you so much and I’ll see you tomorrow!” Tessa quickly told her friend as she hugged Georgie one more time before saying bye to Pumpkin and then placed Mal in the baby car seat making the small baby smile as she got comfortable.</span>
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  <span>                “Okay Mal let’s go get you some stuff real quickly because we have to be back before the audition announcements. If I win this contest then maybe we won’t have to worry about anything bad happening. But no matter what I’m not letting anyone separate us okay Mal,” Tessa told the baby as she picked up the baby car seat and buckled her into the car.</span>
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  <span>                   Just as Tessa was about to close the car door the small baby looked up at her and gave her an adorable smile as she then reached towards her and started talking. “Mama!” Mal called out as she reached towards Tessa making her completely stop what she was doing as she looked at the baby in shock. </span>
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